In a large nonstick Dutch oven coated with cooking spray, cook ½ c. onions and squash until tender ( about 8 minutes). Set aside 1 c. corn kernels. Place remaining corn kernels and milk in a blender and process until combined. Add the milk mixture along with the reserved corn kernels, bacon, salt and pepper to the squash and onions. Cook until heated through. Ladle soup into six bowls. Top with remaining green onions and 1 T. cheese per bowl.

Monday, August 29, 2011

With apple picking season upon us, I thought this was a nice alternative to traditional apple recipes.

serves 16 ( 6 points+ )

⅓ c. light stick butter, softened

1-⅔ c. sugar

¾ c. egg beaters

½ c. low-fat buttermilk

½ c. Danon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt

2 tsp. vanilla

2-½ c. flour

½ c. baking cocoa

1 tsp. cinnamon

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. allspice

2 c. grated peeled tart apples

½ c. mini chocolate chips

½ tsp. powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until crumbly. Add egg beaters, buttermilk, yogurt and vanilla and mix well. Combine the dry ingredients (through allspice) and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until just blended. Stir in apples and chocolate chips. Transfer to a bundt or tube pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Our family spent last weekend in Door County. After seeing so many cherry items, I was inspired to try making a stuffed French toast. I hope you like this!

serves 4 (6 points+)

French Toast"

8 slices whole wheat reduced fat bread ( Sarah Lee Delightful)

½ c. egg beaters

¼ c. skim milk

½ tsp. vanilla

cinnamon

Filling:

3 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

2 T. powdered sugar

¼ tsp. vanilla

4 T. no sugar added cherry pie filling

Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread evenly on four pieces of bread. Top cream cheese mixture with 1 T. cherry pie filling. Top with remaining slice of bread.Whisk together egg beaters, milk and ½ tsp. vanilla. Dip bread into egg mixture coating both sides of "sandwich".Heat a nonstick griddle with cooking spray. Place the stuffed French toast onto the griddle and cook until browned. Sprinkle with cinnamon while cooking. Flip and cook other side until browned. Serve with sugar free syrup if desired.

Combine first 8 ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ¾ tsp. oil. Cook one tortilla for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Repeat procedure with remaining 2-¼ tsp. oil and remaining tortillas.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Since I have a slight addiction to the salty sweet combination, I knew I could not resist these brownies! I could have eaten the whole pan, but that is where having guests for dinner and having a good neighbor to pass along these treats to comes in! I hope you like these as much as I did!

For brownies, combine flour and next four ingredients. Combine melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Add butter mixture to flour mixture, stirring to combine. Scrape batter into baking dish and bake for 19 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

For topping, melt 4 T. butter in a saucepan. Add ¼ c. brown sugar and 1-½ T. milk; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Spread over brownies and let stand until set ( about 30 minutes)

Combine 2 T. milk and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt and drizzle over caramel. Sprinkle with sea salt; let stand until set.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The chicken was moist and juicy. I left the skin on a few pieces for those who wanted it. It also gave some nice contrast to the picture.

It was hot and humid in Wisconsin today, so I did not want to turn on my oven late in the day. I decided to make this recipe in my roaster. You can try this in your oven on a cooler day :)

serves 12 ( 3 oz. cooked chicken = 5 points+)

6-7 lbs. chicken pieces

garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

2 medium onions, halved and sliced

½ c. fat-free chicken broth

½ c. balsamic vinegar

Place onions in the bottom of a roasting pan. Sprinkle chicken with garlic, salt and pepper. Place chicken over onions. Mix chicken broth with balsamic vinegar and pour over chicken. Bake or roast at 350 until juices run clear. (about 1-½ - 2 hours). Remove skin from chicken before serving. Serve with onions and a little of the balsamic sauce.

Stir together flour with next three ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together peanut butter with next four ingredients (through eggs). Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in baking dish and top with chopped peanut butter cups. Bake for 19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

My daughter, Jessica, who was recently married has become quite a good cook in her own right :) She has learned to adjust recipes to make them healthier and more points friendly. Try these muffins and see what you think. They are pretty awesome in my opinion!

The streusel topping will go for 3 batches of muffins. Store the topping in a ziplock bag for further use.

Streusel Topping: ( for 36 muffins)

½ c. flour

½ c. sugar

¼ tsp. cinnamon

½ stick butter

Mix the dry ingredients with the butter by hand until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. The mixture can be stored in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for two weeks.

Muffins: Makes 12 ( 4 points + with streusel topping)

4 T. ( ½ stick) light butter

½ c. sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

1 c. flour

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

1 egg

½ c. Danon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt

1 c. fresh blueberries

⅓ of the streusel topping ( about 2 tsp. per muffin)

Preheat oven to 350 and line 12 muffin cups with liners or spray with nonstick spray.With a mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla.Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add egg to the butter mixture and blend until combined. Add yogurt, alternately with dry ingredients to the batter until combined. End with dry ingredients.Fold in blueberries and spoon evenly into muffin tins, leaving room at the top for the streusel. Sprinkle with streusel topping. Bake 22-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.Cool for 10 minutes before removing muffins from pan.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Tomatoes are finally coming in from the garden! However, several are green, which prompted me to try this recipe. I hope you like it!

serves 1 ( 5 points+)

Large green tomato, cut 2 slices about ¼ " thick

2 T. Panko Japanese bread crumbs

2 T. dry bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg white, beaten

2 Oscar Mayer fully cooked bacon strips ( cooked crisp)

1 tsp. light mayonnaise

Combine Panko and regular bread crumbs; season with salt and pepper to taste.Dip tomato slices in egg white, then coat both sides with bread crumb mixture.Heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. Fry tomatoes until browned and crisp on one side. Spray the tops of the tomatoes and flip, cooking the other side until browned and crisp.Spread mayo on one tomato slice, top with lettuce, then bacon, then remaining tomato slice. You will need to eat this with a fork and knife.

Cook sausage and onion, until sausage is no longer pink; drain.Transfer to a 13 x 9 pan coated with cooking spray.Sprinkle sausage mixture with half of the roasted red pepper and all of the spinach.Combine flour, Parmesan, basil and salt in a large bowl. Combine eggs and milk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, whisking until fairly smooth. Pour over spinach. Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until center is set. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining red pepper. Bake an additional 5 minutes.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Inspired by a these muffins from "Skinny Taste", I decided to change up the recipe using ingredients I had on hand. These muffins, were moist and very tasty and at only 4 points plus, they are a real treat! Make these for breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack or a dessert.

serves 12 ( 4 points+)

2 medium bananas, mashed

1 c. grated zucchini

¼ c. Dannon Light and Fit vanilla fat-free yogurt

1-¼ c. flour

¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

2 T. butter, softened

⅓ c. sugar

2 large egg whites

½ tsp. vanilla

½ c. semisweet chocolate chips

2 T. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and spray or line 12 muffin tins with liners.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar. Add yogurt, egg whites, vanilla, bananas and zucchini.In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture, blending until combined. Fold in chocolate chips and pour evenly into muffin tins.Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.Mix powdered sugar with enough water to make a glaze. Drizzle over muffins.

While thinking of an idea for a light lunch and wanting to use some leftover pesto sauce, I came across this recipe from "Taste of Home". This would make a perfect lunch or side salad for dinner. I omitted the anchovy paste, becauseI do not care for it. If you would like to add it to the dressing, the amount is 1 tsp.
I also had only grated Parmesan cheese. This recipe calls for shaved Parmesan on top of the salad.

serves 6 ( 5 points +)

3 oz. French baguette, cut into ½" cubes

1-½ tsp. olive oil

2 oz. Parmesan cheese

¼ c. canola mayonnaise or low-fat mayo

3 T. pesto sauce ( you can use store bought, refrigerated pesto)

4 tsp. water

2 tsp. lemon juice

½ tsp. Worcestershire

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

⅛ tsp. Tobasco

1 garlic clove, minced

12 c. torn Romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place bread in a large bowl, drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Arrange bread on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, turning once.

Grate 2 T. cheese; shave remaining cheese to equal about 6 T. Set shaved cheese aside.
Combine grated cheese with all ingredients except bread cubes and lettuce.
Place bread cubes and lettuce in a large bowl. Toss with dressing. Divide salad among six plates and sprinkle with shaved cheese.

Last night, I was cooking for about a dozen people. I was looking for something simple to make, using what I had on hand, since I am still trying to avoid going to the grocery store! I ran across this recipe for Chicken Nuggets at "Skinny Taste", so I thought I would give it a try. I made two large pans of nuggets and everyone loved them. Not one nugget was left! I hope you like these too. They should satisfy even your picky eaters. Serve them with whichever dipping sauces you choose. We chose BBQ, Ketchup or Honey Mustard.

Preheatoven to 425°.Spraya baking sheet with olive oil spray.Putthe olive oil in one bowl and the breadcrumbs, panko and parmesan cheese in another.Season chicken with salt and pepper, then put in the bowl with the olive oil and mix well so the olive oil evenly coats all of the chicken.Put a few chunks of chicken at a time into the breadcrumb mixture to coat, then on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the top with olive oil spray then bake 8 - 10 minutes. Turnover then cook another 4 - 5 minutes or until cooked though.

This salad recipe from "Cooking Light" is just packed full of all kinds of flavor! This would make a nice, light lunch or a great accompaniment to a light dinner.

serves 4 ( 6 points + )

2 T. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. honey

¼ tsp. pepper

⅛ tsp. salt

2 T. olive oil

1 T. freshly chopped mint

1 ( 6.5 oz) package sweet butter lettuce mix

2 large peaches, cut into wedges

3 oz. very thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1" pieces

3 oz. ricotta salata cheese, divided into four equal pieces ( you can substitute feta or goat cheese as well)

2 T. dry roasted sunflower seed kernels

Combine first four ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Gradually drizzle in olive oil. Stir in mint.
Combine lettuce and peach wedges; drizzle with dressing. Arrange about 2 c. salad in each of four bowls. Top with prosciutto, 1 piece of ricotta salata and 2 tsp. sunflower kernels.

These little desserts are perfect for those who love lemon and for those who have a sweet tooth… Okay… they are a little indulgent at 10 points +, but they are nice for a special occasion or for when you want to use up some activity points!

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Who am I?

After having success following Weight Watchers and learning how to cook in a healthier manner, I started sharing my "Point-less" recipes with friends. That began back in 2007. With much encouragement, I have started this blog as a way to encourage others in healthy eating and possibly in their journey of weight loss. I believe in healthy food that tastes great! My family has tried each and every one of these recipes. Let me know if you try any and how you like them. Welcome to "Point-less Meals"!

Why be "Point-less"?

This "point-less" blog is to encourage people in their quest for healthy eating. In my opinion, healthy food has to taste great! These recipes have all been taste tested by my family and/or any unsuspecting visitors who may have stopped by! For those following Weight Watchers, I've assigned the point value and serving size to each recipe! Hence the name "Point-less Meals".